Recognising and realising teachers’ professional agency

Abstract

This reflection on the eight papers in this special issue examines the theoretical stances and methodological resources to be found in them. It offers a definition of agency which emphasises commitment, responsibility, strong judgements, self-evaluation, connection to the common good and attention to what people do. Having examined how the papers relate to this definition, it considers its methodological implications, pointing to the advantages of recognising how agency emerges in the dialectical interaction of person and practice. The methodological challenges of capturing agency when defined in this way are discussed and more attention to ethnographic approaches is urged. The discussion concludes by advocating a strong relational and collective reading of teachers’ professional agency, where autonomy is found at the level of the profession as public guardian and nurturer of the commitments and values that mark the teaching profession.